Fairfax County is seeking public feedback on the future of Springfield’s Lake Accotink, which remains yet to be determined.
The county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services opened a survey today (Monday), allowing residents to weigh in on how to navigate the current challenges impacting the lake.
“This survey is intended to ensure the community has input on the questions being addressed by the study and to build lines of communication with the public to share information and collect feedback as the study progresses,” DPWES said in a press release.
The lake, which originally spanned 110 acres, has shrunk to roughly 49 acres due to sediment deposits from Accotink Creek.
To combat the ongoing reduction, the county has periodically relied on a process called dredging, which removes portions of sediment. The process is costly, with at least $60.5 million being earmarked for Lake Accotink’s improvement since 2019.
At this point, however, there are more options on the table than just attempting to restore the lake to what it once was or allowing it to disappear, as county staff suggested in a report last year.
“Due to the large, developed area upstream, and the significant amounts of sediment that flows into the lake,” the press release said, “continuing to dredge the lake to maintain its current size might be too expensive, too impactful to our natural resources, or too disruptive to adjacent communities.”
In December, a task force formed by the county’s Board of Supervisors found that “a program of regular maintenance dredging” would allow for the preservation of 20 to 40 acres of the lake. But the task force’s findings expressed the need for additional study.
The county’s latest step has been a partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, which would examine the lake’s sediment levels and identify preservation strategies. The Fairfax County Park Authority is also conducting an assessment of the lake’s dam that required water levels to be temporarily lowered.
More than 250,000 people make an annual visit to Lake Accotink Park, which features a multitude of activities on and out of the water. Popular water attractions, such as kayaking, would obviously be impacted by the lake’s further reduction.
The survey will accept feedback until Oct. 20. According to the survey, the results “will not be used to inform potential future…planning efforts,” but will instead ensure that the county’s feasibility study addresses community concerns and establish avenues for future communication.
